Guardian
by LockBox22
Summary: His chest tightened and he coughed, feeling something wet and warm fall onto his neck. Cold fingers clutched at his gut. He would not think about it. He wouldn't think..."So that makes you, what? My angel of death?" Season 1. one-shot


Battlestar Galactica: Guardian

Written By LockBox22

o0o

Captain Lee Adama lay sprawled on his back. The leaves of the tree above him gently drifted down to rest on his prone body. He didn't have the strength to wipe them away.

He was tired; bone-weary, exhausted tired. His fingers even felt weak, too weary to clench into a fist around the gun in his hand, he knew he should keep moving. Keep away from the Cylons that were searching for him, but he couldn't budge an inch.

Through the fog, that was most likely a concussion, he thought back to the dogfight with the Cylon fighters. His crash landing and the mad hunt for him through the forest of the moon which had ended with him slipping down the gentle incline. That gentle incline had turned into a cliff with a rather nasty drop.

The fall had done more damage to his already injured body then he cared to admit. The rocks under him caused even more discomfort to his already aching body. The gunshot wound in his thigh throbbed and he was sure that at least two of his ribs were broken. One might have punctured a lung if his laboured breathing was any indication.

That wasn't even mentioning the other numerous scrapes, cuts, and bruises he had sustained. His concussion, combined with the weariness and injuries, was making it hard to stay awake.

He had been fighting it, straining his ears for any signs of his pursuers, gathering his strength for the last fight. But he was tired and this time he didn't fight the darkness. He let it take him and he dreamed.

Later, he wouldn't remember what he had been dreaming about, but he remembered a bright light. And a woman's face blocking the light from his eyes. It was his mother and she was humming a tune he remembered well from childhood.

_This is just a dream. _He thought. The scene vanished, but the music remained. A woman was still humming, but it wasn't his mother. Reality and dream blurred together until he wasn't sure which was which. He fought his way back from the darkness and groaned as the pain crashed back into his world.

Everything came rushing back to him, the dull aching of his broken body, and the realization of the danger he was still in. The humming still remained. He jerked, snapping blue eyes open as someone touched his forehead.

The sun was above the cliff now and shone into his eyes, but above him he could make out the outline of a woman's face. He realized that he was no longer lying on the ground, but his head was being pillowed by her lap. Gentle fingers combed his hair. She was humming what his mother had called 'Lee's Song.'

Part of him didn't understand what was going on. He must be still dreaming. But he didn't feel the need to pull away. He felt safe with this woman and knew that she wasn't a Cylon. She couldn't be.

"Who?" He managed to croak through dry and cracked lips.

"Shh." The woman soothed as she reached over to place cool fingers on his lips, her long brown hair falling over one shoulder. "Don't try to speak. They will hear you." Her voice was soft with a hint of urgency.

"The Cylons." Lee agreed. He could almost hear their metal clank and the scanning noise they made when they were trying to see. His hand tightened on the butt of his weapon. Suddenly infused with new strength, he struggled to get up. His ribs protested and with a cry, he fell back again, wincing in pain. He just needed to rest for a minute, just one more minute.

His chest tightened and he coughed, feeling something wet and warm fall onto his neck. Cold fingers clutched at his gut. He would not think about it. He wouldn't think...

"Your body needs rest. You may not survive long without it." The woman said sadly.

"So that makes you, what? My angel of death?" He half snapped, angry at his situation; angry that she had voiced his fears.

His anger didn't seem to affect her. She smiled softly. "Some may call me that." The woman said.

"You came a hell of a way." He coughed again feeling something shift in his ribcage. "I'm not expecting to die any time soon." It hurt, a lot. Everything hurt. He was half tempted to let the Cylons find him.

The mysterious woman leaned her head slightly to the left, studying him. "Just rest. The Cylons won't bother you here."

He already felt his eyes closing again. But his eyes snapped open again as he heard the clank of metal. Cylons. He felt the woman grip his shoulder. Fear most likely. He ignored her. He gripped his gun a little tighter and raised it. He tensed in preparation to make an effort to at least sit up, to not die on this hell hole.

He only had to wait until they came into sight. Then he would sit up and take them out until his ammo ran out or he couldn't breathe. His arm trembled as he waited.

The woman pushed his arm down to his side as the first of the shiny metal heads came into view. He fought her, but she was stronger. He looked up at her; angry. "Shh." She told him quietly. "They won't bother you."

Lee turned back as the Cylon soldiers stepped into the little clearing at the base of the cliff. He and the woman were in clear view of the lead Cylon and yet no shooting started. The other four Cylons came up behind it and the fanned out into the clearing, scanners activated.

None of them were alarmed or drew their weapons. It was like they were invisible. He turned his head to look up at the woman who smiled at him gently and motioned with her eyes to continue watching.

Lee turned back to see the lead Cylon come so close that the pilot could have reached out and touched the metal foot, only to have the machine retreat along with the other four back into the forest.

This was going to make for one hell of a story when he got back.

The adrenaline faded from his body as did the sounds of the retreating Cylon's footsteps. The bone weary tiredness set in again as did the pain. He closed his eyes and felt her brush a gentle kiss against his forehead.

"Sleep now." She whispered. He all too happily complied and succumbed to the bliss that unconsciousness brought.

o0o

"How big is the moon?" Commander Adama asked as he leaned over a map of the moon where Lee had gone down with Colonel Tigh and Lt. Gaeta.

It had been three hours since his son had gone down and though he wouldn't admit out loud, Adama was getting worried.

"Big enough that finding one Viper pilot is going to take a while." Tigh said.

"We've estimated that Captain Adama went down around this area; here, sir." Gaeta said pointing with a pen to the spot on the map. "But we can't be sure."

"We're also detecting Cylon activity around that spot." Tigh said. "Sending any teams into the area would be suicide without knowing what they're up against."

"Lee would have moved further into the tree line." Adama said firmly.

"We could estimate how fast he would be moving and then plot a search grid from that." Gaeta said. "But without knowing which direction he went or if even he is injured, it could take a while."

Adama looked at the map, studying it closely. The other two officers stood silently by as their commander looked over the map.A frown creased his brow. There was too much terrain to cover and too little time. Gaeta was right; they knew too little to plot any kind of search pattern.

But something told him that he knew where his son would have ended up; something told him that no one could have survived that crash and walked away unscathed. He knew where Lee was and knew that he was injured.

How he knew, he couldn't explain; all he knew was that he was right. "There." Adama said finally giving in to his gut feeling and pointing to a spot on the map. "Search this area."

"Aye, sir. I'll tell the pilots." Gaeta said moving away.

Tigh looked at him with a slight frown on his face. "Just a gut feeling." Adama replied to his XO's glance. "Keep me updated on their progress, will you? Let me know the minute you find him."

o0o

"Apollo? Come on, soldier. It's time to wake up."

Lee groaned and opened his eyes; his hand clutching at his sidearm. He had fallen asleep again. His concussion must be worse then he'd thought. The leaves dancing in the trees above sent waves of nausea rolling over him.

He fought the urge to vomit, lost the battle, and was quickly rolled onto his side as he lost all of the food he had eaten in the last day.

The woman was still there when he finished, sitting with his head in her lap again. "What is it?" He asked slurring the words slightly as he looked up at her. He tasted bile in his mouth. "Cylons?"

"You have a concussion; I have to wake you." She replied. A smile. "Basic medical training."

"I slept through it." He tried to joke, but it came out more like a sigh. Man, he must be more concussed then his first thought. He tried to breathe and speak, but ended up coughing one word. "Danger."

"Not here." She told him. "You're safe with me. Do you understand?"

Lee looked into her dark eyes and managed to nod. Strangely enough, he did understand. It didn't make sense, but somehow it was right.

"Then rest." The woman said as she stroked his hair. "Your people will be here soon." She started humming again and Lee felt himself sinking into oblivion. He tried to fight against the darkness. He had questions that needed answers, but he found himself sleeping again.

It felt like days when he awoke, but in reality had only been a couple of hours. His head was thick with sleep and pain. It was dusk now, with the light fading from the forest. He realized that he was lying alone on the ground without his guardian.

He gripped his weapon tight and slowly moved his foot over to rest on the root of a tree. He braced himself and managed to push himself into a half sitting position. It hurt. He gritted his teeth and pushed himself the rest of the way.

Something snapped in his chest and he fell onto his back with a muffled cry. His rib. He gagged, unable to breathe as fluid began to fill his lung. Suddenly, her warm presence was at his side. He grabbed at her, trying to articulate what was happening.

She bent over him, placing warm lips against his cracked ones. He felt breath began to fill his lungs. A warm hand rested over his ribs and he felt some of the pain lessen. She drew back and he was able to breathe again.

He still hurt everywhere, but at least he could breathe again. He also realized that someone was calling his name. He looked up. She motioned him not to speak and then stood up. He realized that her feet were bare, which was an odd choice considering the terrain. She moved away from him into the forest, but still within sight.

"Over here!" Someone said. "I think it's Apollo! Come quick!"

He turned towards the sound, wincing. His head protested at the sudden movement, causing his vision to waver. His stomach was not feeling too happy either. The pain he had felt earlier was coming back, worse this time.

Three figures walked towards him, weapons raised.

"Make sure no toasters sneak up on our ass." He heard Kara snap out. "Get the medic over here. Lee?"

He felt more then saw her kneel down next to him. Her hand touched his face. He was going to black out again. He knew the feeling well by now.

"There's something in the trees!" Someone whispered loudly.

Lee fought against the darkness, tried to say something about how she was friendly. She had saved his life. Then someone lifted him up. He screamed, not knowing that he still could considering how dry his mouth felt.

It hurt. Everything hurt. When the darkness came again, he didn't fight it.

o0o

"Make sure no toasters sneak up on our ass." Kara snapped out. "And get the medic over here."

She turned back to her friend lying on the ground. He looked awful, his uniform was dirty, ripped, and in places, bloody. Blood had dried on his face and neck and his leg... she recognized a gunshot wound when she saw one.

They had spent most of the day searching the grid, almost ready to give up. She'd been prepared to spend the night on this hell hole; even if it meant staying on watch all night in case the Cylons decided to ambush them.

It had been Hot-Dog that had spotted him and taken off through the woods. She had yelled and chased him though he had turned out to be right.

"Lee?" She asked, falling to her knees beside him. She reached out and touched his face. "Come on, Lee. Wake up."

"Over there!" The pilots behind her snapped into action, raising weapons and moving forward. "There's something in the trees!"

Lee stirred and she moved back as the medic came up behind her. "Let's move him quickly and get back to Galactica." She said softly. "I don't want to be here longer then we have too."

The medics folded out the portable stretcher they had been carrying and then made ready to move Lee. She knew it wouldn't be easy to move him, but the sound he made sent daggers through he heart.

She looked up, hand on her weapon as Hot-Dog called her name. He and the remaining three pilots had come back. "We got Cylons over the ridge, Starbuck."

"Frak! Let's go!" She ordered. There was a flurry of motion and she took up the rear. She looked back as they hurried back the way they had come and realized that someone was standing in the clearing where they had found Lee.

It wasn't a Cylon centurion, but somehow she knew it wasn't Cylon at all. It was a woman, or maybe her tired brain was just telling her it was. The white dress created a glow around her beautiful face framed with dark hair.

Kara passed a tree and then blinked in surprise to see that the woman was gone. She turned back and almost ran into the pilot in front of her.

"What's the holdup?" She asked.

Hot-Dog turned around. "We got more frackers coming this way."

"Frak!" She swore again. "Back into the clearing, everyone! Move it!" Since she was the last in line, she was the first into the clearing. There was nothing in the clearing, but something made her uneasy to be in there.

Her skin was itching like this was an ambush. She turned around to look at the place where she had seen the woman and bumped into something solid in thin air. She spun around to see the woman standing beside her.

Kara swore and lifted her sidearm, but her attention was diverted when Hot-Dog yelled and started firing back at the way they had come. A second sound reached her ears. The sound of metal and electronic weapons. Cylons. She spun towards her pilots, yelling the medic to get Lee behind them and away from the line of fire.

Four Cylons advanced on them. Kara ordered a retreat behind some fallen logs. One of them didn't make it. Kara drove behind the logs last and popped up to continue popping the toasters, but silence fell on the forest.

She hissed for everyone to stop firing. The lead Cylon was looking around for them. She watched as his eyes roamed right over them. She knew that they could see them. Cylons read heat signatures. But they didn't start firing again. The four Cylons branched out and continued looking for them.

Kara ducked back down. "They can't see us." She muttered. "There must be something about this moon."

"What do we do?" Hot-Dog whispered.

Kara looked at the medics, looked at Lee who was still unconscious. They couldn't run with his weight slowing them down. They couldn't fight their way out. If four were out there, that meant that more would be coming. They could run right into a trap. But at the same time, she knew that whatever was making the Cylons lose track of them might not last for long.

"We stay." She decided. "They'll get bored and go away. Then we double-time it back for the ships."

She peeked over the logs again. A flash of white caught her attention and she looked. The woman she had been earlier was standing in the shadows of a tree about five meters to their left. She blinked and the woman was gone.

She shook her head. She was seeing things. Right now what was important was that they get away from the Cylons and get Lee back to the Galactica. She ducked back down and leaned her back against the log. She checked her weapon and waited.

Lee's condition worried her more. He was still unconscious, but muttered in his fever. That worried her. The medic wore a worried look too, but kept doing his best to make the pilot comfortable.

Kara scooted her way over to the two of them. "He going to make it?" She asked the medic quietly.

The medic shrugged. "Probably. He's pretty beat up though and I think he has broken ribs. I'm surprised that nothing's been punctured. We have to careful."

It would be another hour until the Cylons wandered off. And another three until they got back to their ships. They could have made it in one and half, but carrying Lee slowed them down. Kara could always sense the Cylons out there, somewhere, waiting for them. But nothing happened in those four hours.

Except for the woman in white who kept showing up. She stayed out of sight, always in the distance. By the time they got back to the ships, Kara knew that she was not seeing things. The woman was real.

As everyone loaded into the ships, Kara looked back at the woman. She watched as the woman raised a hand and then vanished from sight. Kara blinked and frowned in confusion. Something strange was going on here. She was called back by her co-pilot and shook off a shiver as she hustled back to the ship.

It was time to get off this hell-hole and get Lee home. Whatever was out there could stay out there.

o0o

A few days later, Lee was resting comfortably in the infirmary. The concussion had caused no lasting damage and he was healing quite nicely from his broken ribs. Doc Cottle seemed surprised as how little damage there was, but Lee had been as non-committal as possible about what had happened.

"An infected gunshot wound, two broken ribs, one concussion, and not to mention other various scrapes and bruises." Cottle had shaken his head. "It's a small wonder you're still walking and talking, Captain."

Though they pressed him, Lee didn't remember a whole lot from his time spent down on the planet, just bits and pieces and of course what Kara had told him after he had regained consciousness a day and half ago.

Shifting to get comfortable, Lee looked up as the curtain was yanked aside and Commander Adama looked down at his son lying on the hospital bed.

"Commander." Lee said evenly looking up at his father. He had heard from the Doc that Adama had tried to visit when he had first been brought in, but that had been when he'd still been unconscious.

"Don't you ever do that to me again, Captain." Adama ordered. "You put your old man through hell."

Lee saluted with a slight wince as the motion pulled at his healing ribs. "Yes, sir." He said. "Won't happen again, sir."

Father and son looked at each other. They didn't speak, but each knew what the other was thinking.

"Welcome home, son." Adama said finally.

_Commander Adama, report to the Bridge, Commander Adama to the Bridge." _A voice came over the intercom.

Adama looked up in annoyance and then back at his son. He smiled. "Get some rest. I need my best pilot back in the cockpit." He smiled again and then left.

Lee settled back against the pillows and closed his eyes. The meds were making him sleepy again. He hadn't seen the mysterious woman since he had woken up in Sickbay. Maybe she was a hallucination or maybe she had been real. He didn't know.

He remembered how hesitantly Kara had broached the subject to him. He didn't think the other pilot was crazy. _Something_ had made damn sure he'd come home in piece. As if in answer, a cool breeze brushed over him, moving the curtain and ruffling his hair.

Lee heard the first couple bars of 'Lee's Song' being hummed. "Thank you." He whispered as he drifted to sleep.

_Fini_


End file.
